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SQL Server 2017 Administrator's Guide
SQL Server 2017 Administrator's Guide

SQL Server 2017 Administrator's Guide: One stop solution for DBAs to monitor, manage, and maintain enterprise databases

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SQL Server 2017 Administrator's Guide

Keeping Your SQL Server Environment Healthy

In the first chapter, we have seen that SQL Server is a complex tool consisting of many services that work together. Based on the deployment scenario, we can even have more instances of the SQL server running on the same host. SQL Server is usually a key service in the enterprise environment because many other applications and tools depend on SQL Server as their primary data storage. It's a crucial task to keep our SQL Server healthy with proper maintenance and monitoring but also with proper post-installation configuration. Installation, as we have seen in the first chapter, is not configuring many of the settings and keeping the default values. Default configuration might not be ideal for your production environment and it's important to understand the benefits of the modification to the default values.

This chapter will...

Understanding SQL Server patching

Once you install SQL Server, you need to watch for future updates released by Microsoft. You can recognize what updates were installed to your server by checking the build number of the SQL Server. You can find the build number in the SQL Server Management Studio as you can see in the following screenshot or via the SELECT @@VERSION command. There are several types of updates released for SQL Server:

  • Service packs
  • Cumulative updates
  • Security updates

Service packs are usually the largest update option for your SQL Server. They frequently include updates released by more cumulative updates and should be tested more thoroughly regarding performance and stability of the system. It's also important to keep your environment with recent service packs due to system support by Microsoft. Service packs not only fix issues, but often also bring new...

Post-installation configuration

Once you have installed your SQL Server and performed the patching to the current patch level required, you need to configure basic settings on the SQL Server and also on the Windows Server itself. There are several settings on the Windows Server that have an impact on your SQL Server's performance and security and these need to be updated before you put the server into production. The following are the basic options that you need to configure on the operating system:

  • Security rights for your SQL Server account
  • Power settings
  • Firewall rules

Configuring security rights for a SQL Server account

During the installation of the SQL Server, you're choosing an account that will be used...

Creating a performance baseline

Once you have deployed and configured your SQL Server, you can create a performance baseline. This baseline is very important for you for numerous reasons and they are as follows:

  • When you start troubleshooting the server, you need to know how your server will behave to something odd
  • You can proactively tune the system if you find a weak spot in the baseline
  • When you plan to upgrade your server, you know how the load was increasing over time, so you can plan properly

Creating a performance baseline and capturing performance information for your server is hence a very crucial task and should be deployed to each of your servers. There are numerous sources that you can use to collect useful information about your SQL Server and these include the following:

  • Windows performance monitor
  • SQL Server Dynamic Management Views
  • SQL Server extended events...

Summary

In this chapter, we have seen how to build a healthy SQL Server environment and how to configure not only the SQL Server, but also a Windows Server for stable and secure SQL Server workload. Keeping your server up to date, secure, and monitored is extremely crucial for the stability of the applications and your ability to perform any troubleshooting at the SQL Server level.

In the next chapter, we will build on our healthy SQL Server and introduce backup and recovery procedures so that you will understand how to keep your server safe and how to recover from failures.

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Key benefits

  • Master the required skills to successfully set up, administer, and maintain your SQL Server 2017 database solution
  • Design and configure, manage, and secure a rock-solid SQL server
  • Comprehensive guide in keeping your SQL server disaster proof and ensuring all-time availability

Description

Take advantage of the real power of SQL Server 2017 with all its new features, in addition to covering core database administration tasks. This book will give you a competitive advantage by helping you quickly learn how to design, manage, and secure your database solution. You will learn how to set up your SQL Server and configure new (and existing) environments for optimal use. After covering the designing aspect, the book delves into performance-tuning aspects by teaching you how to effectively use indexes. The book will also teach you about certain choices that need to be made about backups and how to implement a rock-solid security policy and keep your environment healthy. Finally, you will learn about the techniques you should use when things go wrong, and other important topics, such as migration, upgrading, and consolidation, are covered in detail. Integration with Azure is also covered in depth. Whether you are an administrator or thinking about entering the field, this book will provide you with all the skills you need to successfully create, design, and deploy databases using SQL Server 2017.

Who is this book for?

This book targets database administrators with an interest in SQL Server 2017 administration. Readers are expected to have some experience with previous SQL Server versions.

What you will learn

  • Learn about the new features of SQL Server 2017 and how to implement them
  • Build a stable and fast SQL Server environment
  • Fix performance issues by optimizing queries and making use of indexes
  • Perform a health check of an existing troublesome database environment
  • Design and use an optimal database management strategy
  • Implement effi cient backup and recovery techniques in-line with security policies
  • Combine SQL Server 2017 with Azure and manage your solution by various automation techniques
  • Perform data migration, cluster upgrades, and server consolidation

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Dec 12, 2017
Length: 434 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786462541
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

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Product Details

Publication date : Dec 12, 2017
Length: 434 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781786462541
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

12 Chapters
Setting up SQL Server 2017 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Keeping Your SQL Server Environment Healthy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Backup and Recovery Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Securing Your SQL Server Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Disaster Recovery Options Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Indexing and Performance Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Troubleshooting SQL Server Environment and Internals Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Migration and Upgrade Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Automation - Using Tools to Manage and Monitor SQL Server 2017 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Always On High Availability Features Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
In-Memory OLTP - Why and How to Use it Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Combining SQL Server 2017 with Azure Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Top Reviews
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.2
(6 Ratings)
5 star 16.7%
4 star 50%
3 star 0%
2 star 0%
1 star 33.3%
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Amazon Customer Mar 17, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Contains a whole lot of information and some good directions. Great that it included Azure info. Good buy.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Giuseppe Pecorella Jan 25, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Feefo Verified review Feefo
PRASHANT KHANDARE Sep 06, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Good Product.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Prabhash Oct 01, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
good book
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Ian Stirk Oct 16, 2018
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
ConclusionI’m not sure how much you can learn from this book. In many ways, you need to be an expert in SQL Server administration, and have a good understanding of English, to understand it fully.The book’s subject areas are largely the correct ones, it does have some useful content, tips, and walkthroughs. However it is let down significantly, in several chapters, by the poor use of English, muddled thinking, and some incorrect assertions. The book clearly needs better editing.Maybe 65% of the book is good (rating 4 out of 5), the other 35% is problematic, hopefully you can use this review to guide you to the good parts…What can be done so the book’s next edition will be an improvement? Firstly, the book needs editing by someone with a better knowledge of English. It also needs a technical editor that can challenge the assertions made. It also needs a gentler introduction to the topics, rather than assume some detailed knowledge already.I’ve reviewed around 100 books over the last 7 years, and this one has been the most frustrating. I'm awarding it a rating of 1 out of 5 on the grounds that, while the most essential task of a DBA is backup and recovery, the treatment of it in this book is terrible. I recommend you do not buy this book in its current format.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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